right to buy after succession of tenancy

mrwozat

hi guys

just wondering if you can give me any advice.

I have been living with my grandmother for the last 14 year's and we were going to buy the house together next year. unfortunately she became very ill recently and doesn't have long left and will not get a mortgage now. I should be able to succeed the tenancy as she has held a single tenancy for over 30 years. if I want to buy the property would the discount go back to 0 when I succeed it or will it still stand?

the house holds a lot of memories for family members and my grandma has said she would love for me to build my own family in same house.

thanks for any advice.

pmlindyloo

If there has not already been a succession then you are eligible to succeed as the grandson.

As far as I know unless you are a joint tenant there is a set period of time when you have to be a tenant before you are entitled to a discount. ( I have read 5 years )

Also, if you are not a joint tenant and the property has too many bedrooms for you then you could be asked to move.

You need to talk to your local council about the procedure.

no1wf

I think unless you're a council tenant you don't have any discount yourself so with you only becoming a named tenant after your Grandmother passes I think you'll have to wait a few years before you can apply.

You may be asked to move if the house is too big for you but I'm sure I've read somewhere that if you've been there 12 months after the other person has passed then they can't do anything as long as you pay your rent on time.

lighting_up_the_chalice

As above, if there has not already been a succession (including joint to single on the death of a former co-tenant, ie spouse) then you should have a right to succession. This will mean, effectively, keeping the existing tenancy and all it rights.

However, for RTB purposes, your time as a tenant is what matters and that clock only starts running at the point of succession.

So, as a "new" tenant, you would have to wait for the same qualifying periods as your grandmother has to enjoy the same rights/discounts.

To be blunt, you should be looking to succeed as a joint tenant and purchasing while your grandmother is still alive if you wish to enjoy her discount. I'm afraid her passing will also mark the passing of any discount she may have accrued, making a sad day even sadder.

moremore

OP the best place to look for advice on this is from your council website on RTB page, also about succession the council will have some information on that as well. As far as I am aware if you lived with your grandmother for a year, the council will want proof of this, then you have an automatic right to to be part of the tenancy, but things may have changed but again contact your council to get the correct info.

Also be very careful when buying under the RTB as some council will charge for thing that were free to tenants in block of flats such as digital aerials there will be an on going charge for their contractors under the right to buy as well as for all their tenants. Also they will get the most appalling contractors in to carry out major work and they will leave the place worse in order to make more work for other big companies. The costs of council accommodation is unreal as they charges for things that you will not received.

Fire_Fox

You would not have been able to purchase together anyway AFAIK since you are not named on the tenancy, your grandmother only has RTB and has likely long been too old/ too low income to get a mortgage of any length.

Successions of tenancy the rules are changing/ have changed, you would need to clarify with the council. Are you on the housing list at present?

ILW

Like the way OP goes on about family memories and what grandma would want, but the only question is about the discount after she dies.

Amara

I think you'll be back to 0 and you'll have to build up tenancy years yourself. Me and OH lived with his parents, as they were really ill . When they died, it took 6 months to HA to decide will we inherit Tenancy or not. Finally they agreed, but all discount was wiped out, and parents have lived there all their life, longer then 30 years.

lighting_up_the_chalice

ILW wrote: »

Like the way OP goes on about family memories and what grandma would want, but the only question is about the discount after she dies.

I'm sure the family memories and grandma's expressed wishes are already well known to the op, so they wouldn't need to ask anyone else about them. The rules regarding succession/RTB discount may be less familiar, hence the question. Seems reasonable enough to me.

lighting_up_the_chalice

Fire_Fox wrote: »

You would not have been able to purchase together anyway AFAIK since you are not named on the tenancy, your grandmother only has RTB and has likely long been too old/ too low income to get a mortgage of any length.

But if the tenancy was assigned as a joint tenancy and the purchase completed while Grandma is still alive, he could fund the purchase and Grandma would still be eligible for her full discount.

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Successions of tenancy the rules are changing/ have changed, you would need to clarify with the council. Are you on the housing list at present?

The rules may have changed, but grandmas tenancy rights are protected and remain as they were when she signed her tenancy.

moremore

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

I'm sure the family memories and grandma's expressed wishes are already well known to the op, so they wouldn't need to ask anyone else about them. The rules regarding succession/RTB discount may be less familiar, hence the question. Seems reasonable enough to me.

I agree, OP will get all the information that is needed on the council's website, but the OP would want to be very careful if purchasing from the council as the partners are only interested in making as much money from tenants or anywhere else they can lay their hands on...